AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 295,112 Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management has significantly reduced its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 57.9%, now holding approximately 0.55% of the company, worth around $43.7 million.
• Despite the stake reduction, institutional investors still dominate the company, owning 90.46% of the stock, with recent new positions established by Sentry Investment Management and others.
• Huntington Ingalls Industries reported better-than-expected earnings of $3.86 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.63 and reflecting a revenue increase of 3.5% year-over-year.

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 57.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 214,238 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 295,112 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.55% of Huntington Ingalls Industries worth $43,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 894,155 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $182,443,000 after buying an additional 62,190 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 728,692 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $148,686,000 after buying an additional 150,204 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 534,737 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $109,108,000 after purchasing an additional 114,635 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 75,182.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 492,349 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,004,590,000 after purchasing an additional 491,695 shares during the period. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 273.2% in the 1st quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 455,308 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $92,901,000 after acquiring an additional 333,308 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock traded up $2.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $274.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 109,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 612,980. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.88 and a 1-year high of $293.14.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The aerospace company reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.63. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 4.54%.The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.38 earnings per share. Huntington Ingalls Industries's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Huntington Ingalls Industries has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Huntington Ingalls Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on HII shares. Zacks Research cut Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. Alembic Global Advisors raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $235.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntington Ingalls Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $264.43.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc designs, builds, overhauls, and repairs military ships in the United States. It operates through three segments: Ingalls, Newport News, and Mission Technologies. The company is involved in the design and construction of non-nuclear ships comprising amphibious assault ships; expeditionary warfare ships; surface combatants; and national security cutters for the U.S.